Airway colonisation in long-term mechanically ventilated patients

To evaluate the impact of continuous subglottic suctioning and semi-recumbent body position on bacterial colonisation of the lower respiratory tract.A randomised controlled trial.The ten-bed medical ICU of a French university hospital.Critically ill patients expected to require mechanical ventilation for more than 5 days.Patients were randomly assigned to receive either continuous suctioning of subglottic secretions and semi-recumbent body...